up and Ros waited for the elevator to go down. He got to the sublevel and as as soon as he drew in a breath, he knew there was a lab of some kind. He rushed through it but the whole floor was empty. He went back to the elevator and went down to the very bottom floor. He exited and the scent of sickness and fear hit his nose. He was certain he had found the captured gods even though he hadn’t laid eyes on them yet. A deep breath helped him find the god scent under the foul ones. That sent him in the right direction. He moved quickly but kept his eyes, ears, and nose alert for any changes. It seemed unbelievable that no one would be down here with the prisoners. He was right. He opened a door where a god was restrained to find a naked female trying to mate him. He had marks all over his body where he had been pinched, hit, and even whipped in an effort to get him to mate with the female. Why anyone would think torture would make a man interested in a female he clearly didn’t want surprised Ros. He aimed the dart gun and shot. He rushed forward to catch her so she wouldn’t hit the floor despite the temptation to let her fall. He got closer and took a good look at the god on the bed. “Alastor? Is that really you?” Alastor was one of the older gods. They had called him Al for short. He’d been thought dead long before Origin fell. “Ros, it can’t be. Have I died and gone to hell if your ugly face is all I see?” “You’re just jealous because the females prefer me.” Ros answered as he released the bindings that tied Al to the bed. He helped him sit up and he examined him for damage. Besides being starved to the point that every rib showed and clearly being abused, there didn’t seem to be any broken bones. “Where are the other prisoners?” “I’ve not seen anyone in a couple of days. They’ve had that she devil in here with me nonstop. Vesperos was the only other god they’ve kept here, but they had others, humans. Ves may be in the next room. We should go now and get him.” “You sit here and wait while I check the rest of the level.” Ros knew Al had many questions but he was a warrior and knew to hold them until they were home. Ros went to the next room and found Ves. His name was the male form of Vespers, made up by the Origin scientists. It referred to the evening star. He looked anything but heavenly right now. he was asleep or unconscious. He was also starved and carried bruises all over his body. Certain places seemed to draw their punishment and those places had scar on top of scar. They would pay dearly for what they had done. He hoped Hades and Doc had gotten all of them so he could exact a price for their crimes. He undid the restraints and suddenly, Ves’s hand shot out and grabbed him. “Ros?” his voice was gravelly as if he had gargled with razor blades. Was he just tired or had they damaged his throat? “Yes, my friend. We have come for you.” Ves’s hand dropped and he went back to sleep a bad sign for a god. Hopefully he was just drugged and the drug would leave his system soon. He looked up and Al stood there watching. “We’ll have to carry him up but I need to check the rest of the floor.” “I’ll help you,” Al volunteered. They went out of the room and quickly checked the rest of the floor. No one else was there. “I’m going to call for a helicopter to pick you two up on the roof,” Ros said as he grabbed his radio and made the call. “They’re five minutes out. Let’s get you both to the roof.” They made their way up in the elevator and out on the roof with no problem. Ros stood with them until the copter arrived and helped to load Ves who still could barely stand. He was relieved when they were gone and free of this place. Now his worries turned to Hades and Doc who he had expected to see by now and Jen, who he wanted to take away from all of this. He headed down to the main entry where he thought Jen would be. Instead he found Raker with